Ever since I saw Godfrey (or the big G, as he is called) I found him a towering powerhouse of energy. Towering is perhaps correct because unlike staid radio announcers, Godfrey stood and leaned over the mikes and delivered his lines to his rapt FM audience. Godfrey was always on the move and he brought his vibe and positivity to all near him.
When he asked me to be on his meticulously curated show Dare II Inspire - I earlier read it a Dare2inspire - I readily agreed. But I did not have a clue where to start. It was Godfrey, who with a lot of handholding, got me to aspire to the results he was looking for.
Interestingly, due to the prevailing pandemic, we never met doing the entire production phase of about a month. Still, we used to have these long conversations when Godfrey with his razor-sharp questions peeled pretty much of my life. It was the first time a person was so interested to know about my life. It was the first time a person was articulate enough to see value in my life - and say so. Not only that, he wanted to make a docu on my life to inspire others.
But there was work to do. First the photographs. 'I want the pictures to tell your story,' Godfrey said. Hunting for the pix made me look nostalgically through all the physical photo albums I had with me. The family helped me with some black and whites too.
Then the timeline of my life. Sometimes we live life so breathlessly we fail to connect the dots and see the miracle of our life unfolding. Godfrey has managed to do that in his video. He put my life in perspective and gave it a dimension which I was unaware of since I was living my story. I was too close to it.
Finally I had to answer the 5 questions Godfrey posed. The very day I received the questions Queenie and me went to Uddo Sunset Bar and Kitchen in Siolim. I like the energy of the place and the fact that it is an estuary where the sea meets the river. So poetic. We were given a warm welcome. Queenie shot the video - holding the camera rock steady - in the first take itself. We were lucky as the eventide was almost upon us when we did the shoot just past 5 p.m. Soon the place began to become crowded with sunset seekers.
The video begins with a jump cut to 2011 when we headed back to Goa from Delhi. One of those life-changing moves, largely inspired by Queenie. I released my second book of poems before we left. Later that year I got a fulfilling job where I serve till today. Goa gave me stability. But people were incredulous when I said I am coming back after almost a decade in the capital.
I love the carefully-chosen music which segues through the 9.07 minutes of the video, so perfectly matching the visuals. 'I used a David Gilmour style guitar solo for the intro. Stel Andre melodic solos for the middle and NCS (no copyright sounds, a popular record label) for the electronica sounds,' shares Godfrey.
The script is very powerful. One of the lines that leap out is, 'Poetry was his passion and carrom his companion.' One is private is the other is a public activity. It is put so succinctly. What rocked me out of my chair was the way Godfrey condenses my elan vital into three golden rules of success, 1. Believe in yourself 2. Walk the line 3. Walk the talk. He said it all. In so few words.
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'Dare II Inspire, Chapter V, The Dreamer: The Brian Mendonca Story' is produced by Godfrey Gomes for YouTube. Release date 26 August 2021. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SEVHSblqr1I
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